The Rooftop History Project was created to tell the story of Rooftop School.
With the demise the of Julia Morgan Lincoln Center Institute Program (2001-2006) with the JMCA Board decision to end funding of the arts education program, Rooftop’s "Art Is…" program was established by the school site in 2006-2007. "Art Is..." started back at the beginning with “Art Is... Asawa,” a study of artist/arts advocate Ruth Asawa, whose work as a founder of the Alvarado School Workshop in 1968 created value for arts education in San Francisco schools. Ruth's daughter Aiko Cuneo planted the seed and tended to the Rooftop art parent program from 1980-1990.
In 1968, Asawa co-founded the Alvarado School Arts Workshop, with friend and fellow parent, Sally Woodbridge. It was an innovative program that involved parents and professional artists in the public schools so that young children had the chance to develop more fully as individuals. They started with almost no money and throwaway objects — milk cartons, egg cartons, scraps of yarn, and flour, salt and water. They spent the summer working with baker's clay. It was a cheap and safe material to introduce children to sculpture. At about the same time, Asawa became a member of the San Francisco Arts Commission and began lobbying politicians and charitable foundations to support arts programs that would benefit young children and average San Franciscans. At its peak, the Alvarado School Arts Workshop was in 50 public schools in San Francisco. It employed artists, musicians, and gardeners and recruited thousands of parents to be involved in public education.
Asawa would go on to serve on the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and become a trustee of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. As an arts advocate, her focus was always on arts education. "I think that I'm primarily interested in making it possible for people to become as independent and self-sufficient as possible. That has nothing really to do with art, except that through the arts you can learn many, many skills that you cannot learn through books and problem-solving in the abstract. A child can learn something about color, about design, and about observing objects in nature. If you do that, you grow into a greater awareness of things around you. Art will make people better, more highly skilled in thinking and improving whatever business one goes into, or whatever occupation. It makes a person broader."
Rooftop School’s “ART IS…” Program (2/12/07) is based on the Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) Aesthetic Education Methodology Work of Art (WOA) — A live theater, dance or music performance, or an exhibit or grouping of visual art pieces to be studied (not a poster, slide or videotape). Line of Inquiry (LOI) — An overarching question about the Work of Art (WOA): design all activities using some part of this, even the warm ups. This year’s LOI: How does Ruth Asawa transform the ordinary in her life’s work? 1) Warm-Up – a fun activity to get things going (ex: Take a minute to see the different kinds of lines you can make with a piece of wire 2) Pre-Engagement Activities · Introduce Concepts · Basic skills (ex. in dance: Practice different gestures before coming up with your own choreography) · Journaling · Work in both smaller and larger groups to accommodate different comfort zones · Experience as both observer and performer (learning to look at what’s happening on stage · Used/worked with music in work of art · Experiential 3) Work of Art (1st Viewing) · Guiding questions before viewing? (example: How does Ruth Asawa explore the use of units in her art? 4) Reflection · What did you see/hear/think/feel? · Postpone interpretations/judgment 5) Post-Engagement Activities · Guided practice before self-generated art making · Multi-layered activity (ex: collaborate in a group to create a work of art using units from paper) 6) Reflection 7) Culminating Event — The purpose of the Culminating Event is to provide opportunity for real assessment of what students learned. * Journaling is important throughout this entire process IDEAS TO CONSIDER WHEN PLANNING THE CULMINATING EVENT WHO COULD BE INVOLVED? · Individual classroom sharing w/parents · Grade to grade sharing · Cross grade level sharing · Whole school sharing · Invited parents and honored guests from the community WHERE COULD THE C.E. HAPPEN? · Singalong time or Morning Circle · Morning Assembly (See Culminating Event template on back) · Parent Teacher Conference Week – Art Exhibit in MPR · International Festival – Sharing of performances or art · Auction & Children’s Art Show – Curate an exhibit that features student art alongside live class projects. Outline the process of “Art Is…” study and development of ideas. Note: The kids will not get to see their work in this venue, unless the show is documented and shared in a slideshow or video. WHEN COULD THE C.E. TAKE PLACE? · Check Rooftop Calendar for scheduling options · Parent Teacher Conference Week · Rooftop Auction & Children’s Art Show · International Festival
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